Plus, Russians are trying to liquidate their crypto
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The demand for cryptocurrencies by countries involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been on the rise. Bitcoin purchased in Ukrainian hryvnias and Russian rubles is at a nine-month high. The real-world demand has quelled the cryptocurrency bear trend, but more volatility is sure to come. Why? - Sanctions on Russian energy leading to a rise in electricity prices will negatively impact energy-intensive proof of work blockchains like Bitcoin.
- Russia owns ~12% of the world's crypto assets.
- The country is responsible for ~14% of Bitcoin's hash power — third-largest after the U.S. and Kazakhstan.
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Crypto firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are getting billions of dollars in requests to liquidate their digital currency. Russians fearing an asset freeze are looking for a safe place to park their fortunes. More: - Some Russians are looking to liquidate their digital assets to buy real estate in Dubai.
- Others want cold, hard cash so they can stash it.
- Swiss brokers have also increased their requests to UAE firms to liquidate over fears that Switzerland will freeze their clients' Bitcoin.
- No requests have been for under $2B.
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Popular Bitcoin mixing tool CoinJoin will block transactions that are flagged as illegal. Bitcoin mixing tools obscure the origin of transactions and are seen as a way to hide illicit funds. More: - With the rise of new forensic tools built by companies like Chainalysis, it has become very difficult to use Bitcoin mixing to launder money.
- The announcement angered privacy advocates, but CoinJoin developer Wasabi Wallet claims it hasn't compromised on its values.
- Research and data analytics show that illicit transactions only make up 0.15% of crypto transactions.
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It has officially been two years since Bitcoin crashed to $3,600 following COVID-19 lockdowns. The cryptocurrency is now trading at 10x this price, but fear and uncertainty about the future are still prominent. What to expect this week: - The Fed is expected to decide on a 0.25% interest rate hike.
- European lawmakers are voting on crypto legislation that could instigate a ban on proof-of-work protocols citing environmental concerns.
- COVID-19 is back in the news in China.
- Data from 21 major exchanges shows that BTC balances held on exchanges are at their lowest since early Aug. 2018. This traditionally has bullish implications for the price and could be a silver lining in spite of a bearish macro landscape.
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- Here's a full explanation of why gamers hate NFTs.
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- A node halt caused the Polygon Network to experience a multi-hour outage.
- California Congressional candidate Shrina Kurani is using NFTs to raise funds for her campaign. The NFTs claim to grant holders access to airdrops from other Crypto projects.
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 |  | Trevor Grant is an entrepreneur, investor, and writer based out of Chicago, Illinois. His primary area of interest is web3 venture capital, social tokens, and infrastructure. Other pursuits include screenwriting, yoga, and traveling. He holds a BS in biomedical engineering. Connect with him on Twitter @trevorisonline |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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